Florida Democratic Party

The Florida Democratic Party is the affiliate branch of the United States Democratic Party in the state of Florida. The party was once a conservative party, holding the governor's mansion from the end of Reconstruction in 1877 until 1967, when the Republicans won over the American South with their "southern strategy". Republican candidate Claude R. Kirk was elected Governor of Florida that same year, and Florida voted Democratic only in 1976, 1996, 2008, and 2012 after 1967. In 1992, the Democrats lost their majority in the Florida Senate for the first time, and they lost the State House of Representatives in 1996. In 2017, the party held 15/40 State Senate seats and 41/120 State House of Representatives seats.